After 8 years of incredible, critically acclaimed shows during April/May, the Ponderosa Stomp Foundation announces a change of seasons! As a non-profit organization celebrating American music, the Stomp has had unprecedented growth in recent years; in addition to the concerts in New Orleans, Austin and New York, their small staff has launched a packed music conference, a developing archive of oral histories, monthly ‘After Hours’ shows at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art and ‘Unsung Heroes’, an exhibition celebrating Louisiana’s role in the development of rock n’ roll, on display at the Louisiana State Museum’s Cabildo in the French Quarter.

As this year has proven, we are an organization who never likes to be idle. As such, we are excited to announce yet another exciting change for the coming year – we will hold the 9th Annual Stomp concert and music conference on a weekend in the Fall for 2010. Citing the gorgeous autumn weather, moving all events to a weekend instead of mid-week for locals who aren’t vacationing and cost economies for out of town fans, Stomp staffers, led by Ira Padnos, will be able to take the Stomp to its full potential. Look for more news on an exact date and locale shortly!

We are also thrilled to announce the recent release of the Ponderosa Stomp short film. The film focuses on Classie Ballou, Lil’ Buck Sinegal and Roy Head, integral Stomp performers. These three exemplary artists enjoyed early success, but found themselves toiling in obscurity later in life. When music fan Brian Gourley attended the Stomp, he was transfixed by the music and amazed that such a small group was able to bring so much music and cultural information to the fore on a shoestring.

After offering to executive produce a film, he began fundraising and working with acclaimed director Jeff Nichols (Shotgun Stories won the Grand Jury Prize at the Austin Film Festival) and the Butler Bros production team. Gourley explains, “The film presented itself at the right time; it let me pour my love of music into a project that I thought would help give props to its roots. Without roots, there are no trees.”

After seeing this moving film, it is easy to see the importance of the Stomp’s mission and the impact of its work. Continuing to recognize influential artists like Ballou, Sinegal and Head and hundreds of others and documenting their stories is a fundamental part of the Foundation’s mission.

The Stomp has launched a fall fundraising drive to build upon these recent successes and to continue to expand our unique and vital work. Cultural preservation efforts require the technical skill, time and expertise of our small, committed staff to be successful. Even a lean machine like the Stomp needs additional resources to continue to turn the mission into action.

“We are on a crusade to convert the masses of music fans and vinyl junkies to the gospel of the Ponderosa Stomp. We hope a visit to http://www.ponderosastomp.org will create a disturbance in your mind and that you will get up off your thing and get involved with the Stomp,” explained Padnos.